


Little Jules Optima

by jadetea



Category: Villainous Nights (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:55:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23011354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadetea/pseuds/jadetea
Summary: "I'm Juliette! But you can call me Jules!" the gi—Juliette gestures for Lorelei to lean closer, and she whispers, "I only let the people I like call me that."
Comments: 5
Kudos: 9





	Little Jules Optima

"Oof!" 

A little girl collides with Lorelei's leg—her leg won, unfortunately. She reaches down to help the kid stand up, and she's ambushed with the brightest smile she's ever seen. 

"Oh my gosh! You're _here_!" the little girl looks at Lorelei with wonder, "Da–Father mentioned you were coming to visit, but you're really here!" 

"Uh…" Lorelei looks at her girlfriend for help. 

"Hey kiddo, I'm Scarlet, and this is–" 

"Lorelei Linden!" the brunette cheers, "You're my favorite hero!" 

Lorelei stifles a laugh at Scarlet's pout. Her girlfriend is usually the one dealing with cameras and fans, so she's accustomed to a certain level of attention. 

"Yeah, that's me. I'm honored," Lorelei smiles, "What's your name?" 

"I'm Juliette! But you can call me Jules!" the gi—Juliette gestures for Lorelei to lean closer, and she whispers, "I only let the people I like call me that."

"Juliette?" Scarlet suddenly perks up, "As in Juliette Optima?" 

"Mhm," Juliette absentmindedly nods in Scarlet's direction, her attention focused on her idol, "Lorelei, do you want to see something cool?" 

Lorelei has a silent conversation with Scarlet that ends with the redhead rolling her eyes. 

"Sure, Jules, that sounds like fun," Lorelei laughs at how wide Juliette's eyes become when she uses the nickname, "It has to be quick though. We're supposed to be meeting your parents soon."

"I'll stay here, sweetie," Scarlet says, "Try not to keep the bosses waiting."

Juliette is already tugging at Lorelei's hand, "Let's go! Let's go!"

* * *

Lorelei expects Juliette's "something cool" to be a new toy or a game, or even an arts and crafts project. It's been a long time since kindergarten, but she's pretty sure that's the sort of thing kids bring for show-and-tell. 

It turns out to be none of those.

Juliette is _definitely_ an Optima. The girl can't be older than six or seven, but she's already dipping her feet into robotics. 

"–and I call this one Alfred," Juliette points at a robot on treads, "Because he gets me snacks."

She types a few lines on her keyboard, and the little robot wheels away. It comes back a few minutes later holding a bag of chips in one gripper and a can of soda in the other. 

Juliette looks at Lorelei expectantly, "Do you like him? He's still a little buggy sometimes and he only–" 

"Alfred is very cool," Lorelei interrupts Juliette—the girl can _talk_ , and though it's cute, most of what she's saying goes over Lorelei's head, "Is he your favorite?" 

Juliette looks pleased at the compliment, but then she frowns and covers the side of her mouth to whisper, "No, but don't tell him that. He works really hard."

Juliette types on her keyboard again, and the little robot zooms away. 

"Okay, I sent him home," Juliette swings her legs under her seat, "Do you want to see another? 

"Sure, do you have a favorite?" Lorelei isn't usually one to spend time with children, but Juliette is quickly wriggling her way towards Lorelei's heart. 

Juliette is not what Lorelei expected. She assumed the little heiress would be a typical rich kid—spoiled, sheltered, maybe even self-centered—but she's happy to find herself mistaken. 

"Oooh, I dunno. I like all my bots a lot!" Juliette hums while she thinks. Lorelei knows the instant Juliette's mind is made up because the young girl bounces in excitement, "Oh! Do you want to see my newest bot?" 

Her voice drops to a hush, "Can you keep a secret?" 

"That depends," Juliette's face falls, "Do your parents know?" 

The girl brightens, "Oh, yeah! I show them everything!"

"Then sure, as long as it's not hurting anybody."

Juliette shakes her head so hard Lorelei worries it's going to fly off, "Nuh uh! No way! My bots are good bots! Daddy just wants me to keep my powers a secret."

Oh. Lorelei's heart clenches. For someone so young to have powers…she hopes Juliette is part of the minority that get powers randomly. If she isn't, and her dad wants her to keep it a secret…

"Hey, Jules? Can I ask you something? " 

"Sure! You can ask me lots of somethings!" 

Juliette doesn't seem to notice Lorelei's concern, "How did you get your powers?" 

Lorelei regrets the words the moment they leave her mouth. Juliette's entire body droops, and her face looks too somber for someone her age. 

"Um. There were some bad guys who took me away," Juliette stares at the ground for a few seconds, then returns to her earlier cheer, "But my powers helped me get away and Daddy made sure the bad men went to jail."

Lorelei is only partly relieved, but at least it's not the worst case scenario. She examines Juliette, and while the little girl perked up again, Lorelei can see she brought up bad memories. 

She takes a deep breath. This isn't really her thing, but… 

"Hey Jules, do you want a hug?" 

Juliette practically launches herself off her computer chair, but she's light enough that Lorelei can hold her pretty easily. The girl wraps her arms around Lorelei's neck and squeezes tight. After a minute, it doesn't seem like Juliette plans on letting go, so Lorelei takes a seat. 

"How about I show you something cool?" Lorelei offers. 

"Like what?" 

"Well you see, I have this pet rock. His name is Flint…"

* * *

Weeks later, Scarlet comes back from a meeting with a glint in her eyes. 

She sits in Lorelei's lap, "Hey babe, do you remember the Optima kid?" 

"Jules?" Lorelei pauses her sketching, "Yeah. How's she doing?" 

Scarlet bursts into laughter. 

"What?" Lorelei pouts, "What's so funny?" 

"It seems I've got some competition," Scarlet teases, "Jack thinks the kid has a crush on you."

Lorelei blushes, "Aw c'mon, you saw her. She's just a big fan. You've got lots of those."

"Yeah, but none of _my_ fans want to build a robot to feed my pet rock."

"Did she really?!" 

"She's been bugging Jack to bring her to work so she can give it to you," Scarlet smirks, "Should I be worried you'll fall for her fancy toys?" 

Lorelei rolls her eyes, "You're not going to let me live this down, are you?" 

"Never."

* * *

MANY YEARS LATER… 

"I forgot I had this one saved," Lorelei shyly hold her phone out for people to see. 

Dahlia tilts her head, "What are you holding?" 

Lorelei smiles, "That was my pet rock. His name was–" 

"Flint!" Juliette shouts excitedly. 

Everyone turns to look at her curiously, Lorelei especially, "How did you…?" 

Juliette laughs nervously, "I just thought that would be a punny name!" 

No one buys it, but the conversation moves on—the entire thing is completely forgotten by the time Juliette has to choke down a spoonful of cinnamon.

* * *

"Yeah, our honeymoon," Andi says as she tugs her girlfriend away, "By-the-way-we-just-got-married byee!" 

The (newly wed?) couple rushes out the door before anyone can respond. The surprise doesn't last long—Andi is involved, after all—and casual conversation starts up as the remaining members catch up. 

A throat clears behind Lorelei, and she turns around to see Juliette holding something behind her back. 

"Juliette?" 

"Ha. Yeah, that's my name. Yup," the blonde shuffles in place, "But uh…if you want, you can call me Jules."

Lorelei's eyes widen. There's no way. 

"Also, I've been meaning to give this to you for a while," Juliette holds out a box, "I called him Mason, but you can rename him if you want."

Lorelei accepts the gift, "Should I open it now?" 

"If you want?" Juliette plays with her hair, "But I included documentation in the box if you just want instructions."

Lorelei sets the box down on a table and carefully opens it. Inside is a small robot that looks like Alfred, only the technology is several generations newer. There's a small remote and a booklet tucked inside as well. 

"I…uh. I kept working on it. Whenever I got frustrated with other projects, I'd add upgrades or tweaks," Juliette shrugs, "It's still the original, in a Ship of Theseus kind of way."

Lorelei looks back and forth between Juliette and the robot. There's no room for denial, she's definitely–

"Little Jules Optima?" Lorelei says in a hushed tone, "But you–and we–you're…" 

A familiar somber expression crosses Juliette's face.

"Oh, Jules," Lorelei understands—probably better than anyone else can, "Do you want a hug?" 

It's a little more difficult this time around, but Lorelei manages to catch Juliette when the blonde leaps towards her.

**Author's Note:**

> Whether Juliette/Lorelei is/becomes romantic is up to reader interpretation.


End file.
